Wanting to make my child’s name to be pronounced the way I intend without being a Karen

[berniceann]

Hello, I am currently 10 weeks pregnant and my husband and I are so excited!! I am I first time mom and my husband is a father to two teenagers.

My husband is from Mexico and I am white American, but I do speak fluent Spanish and the majority of people in our lives and family are Mexican or Latino/a. We do not yet know the gender, but hope to name our child a Spanish or Indigenous Mexican name. The biggest struggle with this is wanted to choose a name that isn’t too common (i.e. Maria, Carmen, Jose, Juan etc) but is also not so uncommon that it is very difficult to pronounce. For example, my husbands daughters name is an Aztec name and starts with an X pronounced like a C, and she hates her name and no one can ever pronounce it. My husband likes a similar X Aztec name for a girl, but I wouldn’t want this as it would be too difficult for even my English-speaking parents to pronounce.

What seems to be a happy medium are names like Carolina and Natalia, but we know that they’ll be pronounced (care-ah-lie-nah) like (the states) and (nah-tal-ya) rather than the Spanish pronunciations (care-oh-lee-nah) and (na-tal-ee-ah).

I especially like the name Carolina, but want it pronounced the Spanish way without being a complete Karen and correcting everyone. I definitely don’t want to make it a Tragedeigh by changing it to Kare-O’leighnah or something crazy but wonder if Karolina is enough for it to be differentiated from the state? But I also don’t like K names as it feels a little tacky and Kardashian-like.

Well, I guess I’ll cross that bridge when we find out the gender. Still think a girl will be easier to name than a boy as my husband has a cousin, uncle, or nephew with every Spanish name possible. End rant, any advice or suggestions is helpful!!

 

[tyrom0408]

@berniceann I think this is going to depend on where you’re living!

I’m a first generation American, with my parents coming over from Poland. I had a Polish friend growing up, Karolina, and we pronounce it the same as in Spanish.

My first-gen Italian coworker named her baby Carolina, pronounced the same way as you’re saying. She introduced the baby as that name and that’s what everyone calls her!

However, where I’m from is pretty diverse and has a lot of immigrants and first-gen folks, so hearing other languages and other pronunciations isn’t weird. In fact, to me, the American pronunciations of same names really grate my ears. The name Sonja / Sonia I only heard in Polish and Spanish growing up… then my very American and southern SIL named her baby Sonya, pronounced Sahn-ya, and I had to stop my face from reacting because it sounded wrong (it’s not wrong! It’s just not how I’d say it).

Short story: introduce your baby with their name pronounced as you want it pronounced and don’t think twice about it. Correct people when they say it wrong, and teach your child to correct others too once they’re old enough. I don’t think you have to worry about it at all!

 

[berniceann]

@tyrom0408 I like this idea. I saw that the “K” spelling was polish which is how I would think of it rather than tacky, but I still think I’d go with the “C” spelling and just correct non-Spanish speakers. Or maybe I’ll just pick a different name, or have a boy

 

[siloah04]

@berniceann The "k" won't change anything pronunciation wise in the majority of the US eyes. It will just garner an eye roll for another kitchy name. You may want to explore some more phonetic spelling to have it properly pronounced without requiring constant corrections. Something like Carolena, Caroliena, Cairolena or the sort. Just write every possible way you can think would convey the correct pronunciation and have someone read them out loud.

 

[berniceann]

@siloah04 But then “Carolena” is pronounced “caro-lay-na” in Spanish so it’s a double edged sword

 

[theseekeroftruth]

@berniceann Most people only think of pronouncing the states Carolina, not a person. I would assume the Spanish pronunciation, and I think most people do too.

 

[nibbana]

@theseekeroftruth Unless they don't live in place with a large Spanish-speaking population. Plus there's the name Caroline, also pronounced "care-ah-line", which I think of in addition to the state when I see Carolina.

 

[theseekeroftruth]

@nibbana I don't live in a place with a large Spanish speaking population, and am from a generation in which Caroline was a fairly common name. I'm even from North Carolina, but my first instinct would never be to think Carolina as a female's name would be pronounced like the state because that's weird.

 

[nibbana]

@theseekeroftruth I think it's weird as well, but I've never heard another pronunciation. I only know the state. I predict that she's going to run into that a lot, but maybe I'm overthinking it.

 

[berniceann]

@nibbana I’m in Pittsburgh, fairly small but growing Spanish population. In our lives we are generally surrounded by Spanish speakers due to the nature of our jobs (Mexican restaurant and ESL teacher), but what the child would encounter in school/peers would not include many Spanish speakers

 

[nibbana]

@berniceann My thoughts are stuck on that Teachers/TAs will pronounce it like the state.

I just finished school and while it wasn't for the same reason, I went years correcting teachers every time we had a substitute teacher. Sometimes they just wouldn't get it. I once had an old white man as a substitute who refused to say it correctly.

 

[stay_with_jesus]

@berniceann I have a friend named Carolina and everyone pronounces it correctly, though it might help that her nickname is Leena, which makes it very obvious how her name is pronounced. I'd say go with it. Any name will be mispronounced by someone lol

I'm Tonya and get called Tone-ya or Tan-ya constantly. My daughter is Rosalind and gets called everything from Rose-lynn to Ross-lee. I considered her name a classic name (it's used in Shakespeare, for crying out loud!) Until we named her that and everyone butchers it lol

 

[michaelchandler]

@berniceann My name is Carolina & I’m Hispanic
I just correct them & I’ve had wayyyyy more people giving honest attempts to pronounce it correctly then going straight for the English pronunciation like the states.

& besides, it’s a great conversation starter b/c everyone usually gets determined to say my name right & by the end of the night, maybe they can’t say it perfectly but they remember my name & they keep on practicing to say it out of fun for the next time

I say go for Carolina if you really do love it.

Most people nowadays understand the importance of a name & even if non Spanish speakers get it wrong, I have experienced genuine attempts to get it right.

I hope this gives comfort & helps.

 

[stalis2003]

@berniceann Maybe spell it Carolena?

 

[nibbana]

@berniceann Quite frankly I would still pronounce Karolina like the state and assume you were going 'uneighkue'.

If you want it to be pronounced correctly try going for a more phonetical spelling, like an "e" instead of an "i".

 

[berniceann]

@nibbana But that doesn’t work in Spanish so it would be confusing for our family

 

[nibbana]

@berniceann Just ignore that then. I'm not sure what to say other than that- maybe that your other name, Natalia would be a better choice. If I saw it I'd say "nah-tal-ee-ah", though I don't know about others. It also doesn't have the association of being a state.

 

[iprefertoremainanonymous]

@nibbana You wouldn't assume it was someone who was from one of the many countries that spell it Karolina??? This is the name nerds subreddit. Might want to start doing a little research about names before making statements like this. Makes you seem pretty ignorant.

 

[nibbana]

@iprefertoremainanonymous No I wouldn't, because I'm from the US and so is OP. They asked and others said the same thing.

I also scroll through through r/tragedeigh and the fact is that Karolina looks like Carolina with a "k", and it will be pronounced like the state if they live in America. Unless maybe they in a place where there are lots of Spanish speakers, but even then I'm not sure.

You "educating" me in this comment (you didn't actually provide info, just stated that I'm ignorant) doesn't really change the fact that, if they in the US, most people who read her name will pronounce it like the state.

All I said was that, if I saw her name in real life, I would pronounce it like the state. And if I heard it, I wouldn't spell it the way it's spelled. This is the opinion OP asked for.

Sidenote: I never said she shouldn't pick a Spanish name. Their family is Mexican and the child's name should reflect their culture- but there are plenty of names that work well in English and Spanish.

 

[iprefertoremainanonymous]

@nibbana I'm from the US, too. You stated that spelling it with a K would make you think they were trying to be "uneeqgh" which is a rude way to say that someone shouldn't spell it that way, because it's not a real name. But Karolina is, in fact, a very normal name if you have any family from Europe, for example. You did not state anything about pronunciation. You just said that someone who spelled it that way was being stupid. Which is ignorant and rude. And with one search in the most basic name website, behindthename.com, you would see that it isn't a "uneeeqgh" fake name, you simply don't know much about names outside the US.

I mean, Karolina is common enough in the US that I know at least two.